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Braves Sign Livan Hernandez

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2:25pm: The deal guarantees Hernandez $750K, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets.

1:56pm: The Braves will sign Livan Hernandez, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com tweets. The agreement, a one-year Major League deal, comes hours after the Astros released the veteran right-hander. The Braves have announced the signing.

Even with Tim Hudson sidelined on the disabled list, it seemed as though the Braves would have more than enough starting pitching this year. However, neither Randall Delgado nor Julio Teheran seized the fifth starter's job.

Hernandez posted a 4.47 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 42.4% ground ball rate in 175 1/3 innings for the 2011 Nationals. The 37-year-old Praver/Shapiro client has averaged 216 innings and a 4.44 ERA since 1998, his first full season as a big league starter, and has completed at least 175 innings in each of the past 14 seasons. He earned $1.25MM in 2011.

Braves Looking For Bench, Bullpen Depth

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The Braves are still looking for a right-handed bench bat who can play the outfield or third base, and possibly also a reliever to replace the injured Arodys Vizcaino in the bullpen, reports MLB.com's Mark Bowman.  With Chipper Jones injured, Martin Prado shifts to third base while Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske will platoon in left field, thus creating a hole in the Braves'' pinch-hitting corps.

Atlanta has been connected to Xavier Nady, Marlon Byrd and Will Venable within the last week.  David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the Braves also have interest "a couple of lesser available Cubs" as well as Byrd.  If these "lesser Cubs" are relievers, I'm not sure Chicago is a fit as a trade partner, given that the Cubs are themselves trying to figure out their bullpen.  An outfielder is probably an easier pickup for the Braves than a third baseman, as they'd be competing with the Phillies, Athletics and Twins, among others looking for infield help.

Right-hander Cory Gearrin (who has 18 1/3 Major League innings under his belt) and rookie southpaw Yohan Flande are projected for the two remaining spots in Atlanta's bullpen, so there's certainly room for the Braves to add another experienced arm into the mix.  Off the top of my head, the Rangers are shopping Mark Lowe and Koji Uehara, though they're looking for a right-handed hitting bench bat themselves.

Minor Moves: Bard, Sullivan, Pearce, Michaels

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Here are the latest minor moves from around MLB…

  • The Dodgers released Cory Sullivan and catcher Josh Bard, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times.  The pair both signed minor league deals with L.A. in December.
  • The Yankees have signed Steve Pearce to a minor league contract, reports Josh Norris of the Trentonian (Twitter link).  Pearce, a former well-regarded prospect with the Pirates, signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December but was released on Tuesday.
  • The Nationals released outfielder Jason Michaels, the team announced. The Nationals signed the 11-year veteran to a minor league contract in December.
  • The Brewers signed catcher Jason Jaramillo to a minor league deal, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Cubs released the backstop a couple of days ago after signing him to a minor league deal in January.
  • The Red Sox released catcher Max St. Pierre, according to Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). SoxProspects.com first reported the transaction.
  • The Brewers released Corey Patterson then re-signed him to another minor league contract, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports (Twitter links). Patterson, who signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in January, will start the season at Triple-A.
  • The Indians announced that they acquired right-hander Jairo Asencio from the Braves for cash. The right-handed reliever led the International League in saves in 2009 and 2011 and posted a 1.81 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9 in 54 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year. Asencio is out of options.
  • The Mets have signed infielder Josh Rodriguez to a minor league deal, Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com reports. The Pirates selected the 27-year-old in last year's Rule 5 draft, returned him to the Indians in April, and traded for him in June. Rodriguez, who played in seven MLB games last year, posted a .258/.323/.349 line in 330 plate appearances in the upper minors.

NL East Notes: Nady, Hamels, Hu

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The Braves traded out of options right-hander Jairo Asencio to the Indians for cash this morning. Here are some more updates from the NL East…

  • The Braves have expressed interest in Nationals outfielder Xavier Nady, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com (on Twitter). The Braves have been seeking a right-handed hitting outfielder, but were said to prefer players who can handle center field.
  • Cole Hamels' reaction to the sale of the Dodgers, via ESPN.com's Jayson Stark (on Twitter): "I didn't know Magic Johnson knew anything about baseball," Hamels said. "That's my reaction." The Phillies left-hander hits free agency following the 2012 season but may sign a long-term deal in the relatively near future.
  • Chin-lung Hu had joined the Phillies in anticipation of a deal, but failed his physical, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
  • A National League scout doesn't think the Phillies are that scary once you get past Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. "Other than those three pitchers, they're not very good," the scout told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
  • In case you missed it, I reviewed the Nationals' offseason earlier this morning.

Minor Moves: Marrero, Thurston, Guzman

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Keeping track of the day’s minor moves…

  • The White Sox sent outfielder Christian Marrero to the Braves for cash considerations, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune (on Twitter). It appears that he'll start the 2012 season in the minor leagues.
  • The Phillies signed Joe Thurston, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com (on Twitter). He'll open the season in the minors. The Astros released the utility player earlier today, according to the team’s senior director of social media, Alyson Footer (Twitter link). The 32-year-old has MLB experience at second and third and in both corner outfield positions. He owns a .226/.305/.323 line in parts of seven MLB seasons.
  • The Dodgers signed right-hander Kyle Smit, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets. Smit had spent the past few seasons in the Cubs’ organization.
  • Cristian Guzman says the Indians released him, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Twitter link). The veteran infielder signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland last month, though he didn't play affiliated baseball in 2011.

Marlon Byrd Drawing Interest

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Cubs center fielder Marlon Byrd is drawing interest from two National League teams, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Cubs offered Byrd to the Nationals for pitching and the Braves are also discussing the 34-year-old. 

GM Jed Hoyer has said he won’t be surprised if the Cubs make a move leading up to Opening Day. The team currently appears to be listening to offers for Byrd rather than shopping him, according to Wittenmyer.

Byrd posted a .276/.324/.395 line in 482 plate appearances in 2011, his second season in Chicago. He earns $6.5MM in 2012 and hits free agency next winter. The Fielding Bible Volume III describes Byrd as a reliable if unspectacular center fielder who makes up for an ordinary throwing arm with good reads and a quick release.

If the Cubs traded Byrd, Reed Johnson and Joe Mather could get more playing time in the short-term. Top prospect Brett Jackson is “ready to play here for sure," in the opinion of manager Dale Sveum. Jackson figures to be an option for the Cubs at some point in 2012, even if he needs some more minor league seasoning.

Braves Inquired On Will Venable

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The Braves asked the Padres about right fielder Will Venable, only to hear he’s not available, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (all Twitter links). It was reported over the weekend that Atlanta GM Frank Wren seeks depth for the infield and outfield.

The Braves would prefer to add someone who can play center field if they acquire an outfielder, Morosi writes. Venable has MLB experience at all three outfield positions, though he spent most of last season in right field. He has great speed for a right fielder to go along with outstanding range, according to The Fielding Bible Volume III. The Braves are reluctant to trade Kris Medlen for an outfielder, since they value the right-hander’s versatility.

Braves Looking For Outfield, Infield Depth

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Earlier today, the Braves announced that Chipper Jones will undergo surgery on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined approximately three weeks.  General Manager Frank Wren said that he was looking to acquire backup outfield help even before the injury and will continue to do so, tweets David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

While Johnny Damon remains unsigned, it's unclear how much interest the Braves have in the outfielder, O'Brien tweets.  Meanwhile, the Braves are looking for more infield depth as well, tweets Jayson Stark of ESPN.com.  However, Stark notes that Jack Wilson could be back in action as soon as Sunday.

Quick Hits: Braves, Red Sox, Francona, Ortiz

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On this day twelve years ago, the Expos traded players to be named later and Jake Westbrook to the Yankees for pitcher Hideki Irabu.  One of those Bronx-bound PTBNLs wound up right-hander Ted Lilly.   The Bombers would deal Lilly to the A's a little more than two years later in a massive three-team trade.  Here's a look at what's happening today..

  • The Braves hold a $12MM option on Brian McCann for 2013 and veteran Chipper Jones would be sad to see him go elsewhere, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.  Jones, who will retire after this season, believes that McCann is the type of player that "you want to build a ballclub around," tweets Crasnick.
  • Working as an analyst for ESPN, former Red Sox skipper Terry Francona got the chance to reconnect with his former team earlier today.  Francona just got around to speaking with owner John Henry last month and Tito says that the conversation should have happened sooner, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
  • If David Ortiz wound up going to arbitration with the Red Sox, players' union chief Michael Weiner says that it would have been a case for the ages, writes Brian MacPherson of The Providence Journal.  The two parties settled at $14.575MM, the midpoint between $12.65MM and $16.5MM.
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